Women&#39;s Malleable and Resilient Shoe-Tree

ABSTRACT

A shoe-tree that allows the user to care for and maintain the form of their shoes when not in use by employing a malleable form that can be molded to the shape and contour of the interior of said shoe, regardless of heel height. The shoe tree has a malleable, foam like soft body and a solid yet resilient and moldable infrastructure that allows the user to also bend the shoe-tree back to its original shape or to the shape to accommodate another shoe with a different heel height and interior shape. The invention, when inserted into a shoe, extends vertically beyond the interior heel area of the shoe to mimic the shape of the ankle. In this way, the shoe-tree is able to accommodate the straps, buckles and/or closures of the shoe by allowing them to wrap around the shoe-tree to maintain their intended form when the shoe is not in use.

CROSS REFERENCE RELATED APPLICATION

Provisional Patent (same name) filed Sep. 18, 2015

EFS ID: 23533184

Application No. 62/220,322

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to shoe-trees and more specifically to a shoe-tree that will function in a shoe regardless of the angle given to the interior of the shoe as a result of the height of the shoe's heel or inclusion on the body of the shoe of straps or closures at ankle height.

Shoe-trees have traditionally been constructed from rigid materials such as wood, plastic and metal, or a combination of these materials. Many of these designs rely on a spring type mechanism that applies pressure to the interior of the shoe in order to remain in place.

Shoe-trees of this design, composed of rigid materials and/or using a spring pressure system to remain in place, are not suited to accommodate the delicate materials and fabrication often used in women's shoes, nor the vast variation in shapes, forms and heel heights of contemporary styles.

Even when existing shoe-tree designs have been composed of more malleable materials, they are only sized to fill the toe area of a shoe and do not extend beyond that point to protect the shape and form of the entire shoe, including straps or closures at ankle height or higher.

Furthermore, conventional shoe-trees have been made to accommodate a range of shoe sizes, with one shoe-tree expected to work equally well throughout the full range of shoe sizes. This is most commonly accomplished by either having the shoe-tree work as an insert that only fills the front or toe portion of the shoe, or by using the spring mechanism described above.

In these respects, the present invention departs from the prior art and offers an alternative to existing rigid shoe trees that are not made to accommodate shoes with varying heel heights, delicate textile or leather composition and/or straps and closures around the ankle area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a shoe-tree distinguished by a soft and malleable body with a malleable and resilient infrastructure that enables the user to form the shoe-tree to the shape and contour of the interior of a woman's shoe, regardless of heel height. The resilient nature of the infrastructure allows the user to also bend the shoe-tree back to its original shape or to the shape to accommodate another shoe with a different heel height.

The invention is also distinguished by its length, which, when inserted into a shoe, extends vertically beyond the interior heel area of the shoe to mimic the shape of the ankle. In this way, the shoe-tree is able to accommodate the straps, buckles and/or closures of the shoe by allowing them to wrap around the shoe-tree to maintain their intended form when the shoe is not in use.

Additionally, the shoe-tree, when manufactured, will be made in varying sizes to correspond to shoe sizes thus allowing the user to have a shoe tree that is made to fit their shoe, not employing the “one size fits all” manner in which shoe trees have been made in the past.

The primary objective of the invention is to allow women an option to store and care for their shoes with a shoe-tree that addresses the specific needs of contemporary styles and methods of manufacture. Traditionally, shoe-trees for women's high heels have not addressed these issues and have also not accommodated shoes with interiors that are sloped as heel heights vary from horizontal to nearly vertical in slope.

Furthermore, as many women's shoes have ankle straps or sling back straps that secure behind the heel and often extend higher than the heel, the shoes are left only minimally protected in storage if a shoe-tree is used that does not extend beyond the heel area. The straps are then left unsupported at the sides of the shoe in a manner that does not protect the material or shape of said strap.

Following are drawings and description of a single embodiment of the invention to further clarify the invention and its underlying intent. These are not meant to limit in any way the application of the invention by outlining a single method of construction or set of materials in said construction. The invention is capable of being constructed in various ways with the same outcome and function. These drawings are meant as a descriptive tool in explaining the purpose and function of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention, shown in use

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the invention

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the malleable infrastructure

FIG. 4 is a section view of the invention, taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2

FIG. 5 is a section view of the invention, taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 2

FIG. 6 is a section view of the invention, showing the malleable internal infrastructure and foam 10 fit in exemplary shoe 58

-   10 is the shoe tree -   12 is the foam body of the shoe tree -   14 is the fabric cover of the shoe tree -   16 is the ankle part of the malleable infrastructure -   18 is the top hole of the ankle part of the malleable infrastructure     to receive screw fastener from knob -   20 is the ankle part of malleable infrastructure concave shaped top     to receive rigid cap -   22 is the ankle part of malleable infrastructure flexible strap slot -   24 is the ankle part of malleable infrastructure screw hole -   26 is the heel part of malleable infrastructure -   30 is the heel part of malleable infrastructure screw holes -   34 is the toe part of malleable infrastructure -   36 is the toe part of malleable infrastructure flexible strap slot -   38 is the toe part of malleable infrastructure flexible screw hole -   42 is the flexible strap of the malleable infrastructure -   44 are the flexible strap screw holes -   46 are the screws -   48 is the rigid cap -   50 is the rigid cap screw hole -   52 is the knob -   54 is the knob screw post -   68 is the first exemplary shoe -   70 is the second exemplary shoe

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The infrastructure of the invention has 4 pieces.

The toe part of the malleable infrastructure 34, the heel part of the malleable infrastructure 26 and the ankle part of the malleable infrastructure 16 are plastic parts made by reaction injection molding or CNC cutting.

The three plastic parts are connected by a flexible strap 42 that is stamped from a sheet of metal. The strap must be stamped or cut from a thickness of metal that is thin and pliable enough to allow the user to bend it with ease, but also thick and strong enough to hold its shape and hold the shape of the foam body of the shoe tree 12 when bent and in use in the interior of a shoe.

The top end of the flexible strap 42 is then slid into the flexible strap slot 22 of the ankle part of the malleable infrastructure. A screw 46 is then inserted thru the screw hole of the flexible strap 44 and secured into the screw hole in the ankle part of the malleable infrastructure 24. The bottom end of the flexible strap is then slid into the toe part of malleable infrastructure flexible strap slot 36. A screw 46 is then inserted thru the screw hole of the flexible strap 44 and secured into the screw hole in the toe part of the malleable infrastructure 38.

The central portion of the flexible strap 42 there is a cross piece that is connected to the heel portion of the malleable infrastructure 26 thru the screw holes in the cross portion of the strap 44 and then secured into the screw holes in the heel part of the malleable infrastructure 30 with two screws 46.

The malleable infrastructure piece as assembled is then placed inside of a mold that is injected with foam and formed to the shape of the body of the shoe-tree. During this part of the process, pins are used inside the mold to hold the infrastructure in place in the center of the mold to secure that the entire piece is covered in the foam.

After the injection molding process, the foam body 12 of the shoe-tree is then placed inside of the fabric covering 14 of the shoe-tree. The fabric covering 14 of the shoe-tree is a sock-like covering that is slid onto the foam body 12 of the shoe-tree beginning at the toe area. The fabric cover 14 encases and protects the foam body 12 and allows the user to more easily slide the shoe-tree into a shoe. Any remaining surplus fabric from the covering 14 is then gathered and hidden under a rigid cap 48 that is placed over the ankle portion of the malleable infrastructure 16 and secured in place with the knob screw post 54. The screw end of the knob is put thru the screw hole 50 in the rigid cap 48 and is screwed into the screw hole 18 that is in the concave shaped top of the ankle part of the malleable infrastructure piece 20.

Once assembled and in use, the shoe-tree 10 is bent to the angle to correspond to the interior of a shoe based upon the height of the heel of the shoe and inserted in said shoe 68. To remove the shoe-tree 10 from the shoe, the user simply uses the knob 52 at the top of the piece to pull the shoe-tree from the shoe. The shoe-tree 10 can then be used in another shoe with the same corresponding interior angle (heel height) or bent to work in a shoe with a different interior angle (heel height).

The flexible strap 42 is the malleable component that allows the user to bend the shoe-tree to their desired shape, while the ankle part of the malleable infrastructure 16, the heel part of the malleable infrastructure 26, and the toe part of the malleable infrastructure 34 provide the stability to the foam body 12 of the shoe-tree to keep the shape of the shoe tree as it is bent in various ways. Connecting the three rigid pieces at ankle 16, heel 26 and toe 34 to the flexible strap 42 creates an infrastructure for the shoe-tree 10 to ensure the shoe-tree will bend on the proper axis and not lose its shape over time. FIG. 6 shows the invention in another exemplary shoe 70 with a heel height and resulting angle that is different from the angle shown in FIG. 5. As shown in this sectional drawing (FIG. 6) the invention also extends beyond the heel area of the shoe to allow the user to secure the shoe's ankle strap around the invention and thus further protect the materials of the shoe.

The above description illustrates the principles of the invention and how the components of the invention could be manufactured, assembled and function together to create the invention. Said description is not meant to limit the invention to this method of manufacturing, but rather is used for illustrative purposes to explain the invention and its various components and parts. Variations on the dimensions, materials and method of assembly are intended to fall under the scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A malleable and resilient shoe-tree comprising: a soft resilient body and a malleable infrastructure.
 2. The malleable and resilient shoe-tree of claim 1, wherein said soft resilient body is comprised of a closed cell foam, an open cell foam, rubber, horse hair, cotton, flocked material or felted material or any combination of the above listed pliable and resilient materials.
 3. The malleable and resilient shoe-tree of claim 2, wherein said malleable infrastructure is comprised of a material including but not limited to metal, plastic, rubber, resin, wood, stone, horn, bone, metal, glass or ceramic or any combination of the above listed materials.
 4. The malleable and resilient shoe-tree of claim 3, with an optional cap, wherein said cap is comprised of leather, plastic, rubber, resin, wood, stone, horn, bone, metal, glass or ceramic or any combination of the above listed materials.
 5. The malleable and resilient shoe-tree of claim 4, with an optional textile covering, wherein said textile covering is comprised of any woven or non-woven fabric.
 6. The malleable and resilient shoe-tree of claim 5, with an optional knob or ring pull, wherein said knob or ring pull is comprised of a material including but not limited to metal, plastic, rubber, resin, wood, stone, horn, bone, glass or ceramic or any combination of the above listed materials. 